Lawmakers OK Effort to Spur Flood Project

The Legislature, spurred on by Assemblywoman Doris Allen’s charge that the federal government has delayed flood control projects in Orange County, passed a resolution Friday urging President Reagan and Congress to begin federal work on the Santa Ana River.

In her resolution, Allen (R-Cypress), asserted that “the greatest flooding threat in the state of California, and possibly in the United States, is the Santa Ana River . . . . “

The measure, passed in the waning hours of the 1985 legislative session, asks the President and Congress to approve federal legislation ensuring that flood-control work on the Santa Ana River would begin no later than fiscal year 1987.

Hazard Below Dam

Allen’s resolution said that the Southland counties facing the highest flood risk--Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside--have agreed on an “All-River Protection Plan.” The resolution further added that “most of the hazard to people and property exists in Orange County below Prado Dam,” and that federal flood-control work should begin there.

“We have a very, very serious problem (with potential floods) in Orange County, and we need to strongly remind Congress about the problem,” Allen said.

“Congress has been playing political games with this issue, and these games are endangering lives and property,” she declared.

The resolution said that the federal government has been “studying plans” for controlling the Santa Ana River since 1964. It also said that the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has determined that a flood of the river similar to one that hit in 1862 “could harm 2 million people and cause damages and economic losses estimated at more than $12 billion.”